Holiday Travels

10 days, 5 states, 12 cousins, and too many cookies later, we are tired! We got started on our first trip straight from the Jedis' bus stop after school on the 21st. Everyone had a great time at Grammy and Papa Benjamin's, where we celebrated Christmas with the 5 Bowen cousins. There's a new Benjamin cousin on the way as well from Unkie Nate and Aunt Becky. The boys were very happy to get individual DVD players and the Star Wars original trilogy. We headed home on Christmas Eve and joined our congregation for the evening service. On the 26th, we decided to get going early in the day in order to beat a Nor'easter, which is nothing to mess with if you've ever seen one. Fortunately, we arrived in Bethlehem, PA, by 1pm on Sunday, and family continued to arrive for the next 12 hours. I cooked for all 18 of us so that my MIL could get lots of time with grandchildren, and I'll post about the meals later. The 10 kids in the house were kept busy by watching movies, sledding, playing in the fieldhouse of the college where Pop-Pop works, and ice skating (where I think I cracked my kneecap!). The kids all played together beautifully. It was fun to see the different pairings throughout the day! They solved mysteries, decorated gingerbread, and drew on reams of paper. Now we're safely home and are enjoying a quiet New Year's Eve. We have a few containers of cookies left and some holiday decorations to dismantle after Epiphany, but I can relax in the mess for a while.

Happy Noisy Christmas!

We are having a day of happy noise around here with no meltdowns to speak of, which is really excellent if you've met my kids. Last night we made it back home, did laundry and unpacked, then got the kids to church in nice clothing. The Jedis were asked to help carry a baby Jesus figure to the manger in the Christmas Eve service last night. IM would carry Him up the aisle and hand him off to A-man, who would carry Him to the manger and place Him there. When A-man was asked to do this, he bowed and said "it would be an honor." Then he had a few follow-up questions: "do I get to bathtize (working on pronunciation) Him?" and "do I get to make the sign of the cross on His forehead?". While we've been doing some hands-on learning about sacraments in the Children's Chapel, clearly we haven't gotten to enough theology to avoid multiple kinds of heresy. He does at least know that John the Baptist performs this later on. It's easy enough to remember since it's part of his name.

Fortunately no major heretical acts were committed, and my family enjoyed a beautiful candlelight service last night with no fire accidents. We got the kids to bed and assembled the table and chair set that we bought for M. I fell asleep on the couch, and Dr. O' left me there rather than waking me. I awoke at 4am and decided to put the cinnamon roll dough together in the bread machine. Unfortunately, I could not fall back to sleep because M was crying intermittently and later insistently, and I got her out of bed at 5:30. She was thrilled with her table and chair set and played with it all morning. The boys came down around 7:30 and had to be reminded to open their gift. They got a Wii that we bought from my brother for about 90% off, which was a huge blessing since our Christmas funds are lower than usual. The only manual included was in Spanish, but we managed to get it put together and loaded with Star Wars Lego, which they've been playing whenever they're not playing actual LEGOs.

Tonight we have to move into travel mode once again. The laundry is caught up, and we need to get the bags packed so that we can visit with the O'Hare side for the next few days.

The Food Nerd is Born

I have always wanted to cook primarily from scratch, although I have done so with greater and lesser degrees of success. 5 years ago, Dr.O' was working on his Ph.D. at Notre Dame, and we had 2 little boys by that time. I think we lived on $16,000 that year because I was home with the bebe Jedis. We were getting our budget under control, and I had to dramatically change the way we grocery shopped. Since one of the Jedis showed signs of food allergies, we needed to be able to remove certain ingredients from his diet. Add to that my fears about food additives, and there was plenty of reason to make as much from scratch as possible. Just a simple red popsicle could be harmful. My kids showed sensitivity to Red-40, made from petroleum by-products, and fairly recent studies have shown that the HFCS used to sweeten it could have mercury in it as part of the extraction process. Then there was the genetically-modified stuff, which is in all processed food. So I had to feed tiny people with food sensitivities and behavior concerns, and I had to do it very cheaply! We received help from WIC, which didn't offer the healthiest foods, but it helped to buoy our bottom line a bit. Soon I figured out that 2 staples could be made at home for next to nothing! I became a hard-core bread baker, and I used that WIC milk to make yogurt.

An Unusual Answer to Prayer...

I ran to the Triadelphia Wal-Mart today for a few things, and I was in the baking aisle to grab a cake mix for IM7's birthday. On the bottom shelf were multiple 25lb bags of chemical-free hard white winter WHEAT! It is the same brand, size, and approximate price that I usually pay for it (about $13/25lb bag). This is tremendously exciting because I am a baking nerd. I prefer to grind wheat flour myself for really healthy and delicious bread that's also very cheap and has no non-food additives. I have moved away from an area where I had a nearby Amish bulk food store, and since our friends weren't able to bring some wheat from there this weekend, I was actually pretty close to running out. It was cool to show IM that God answered Momma's prayer. Not only did God provide a source for wheat, but it's close to home, at a place where I shop weekly, and at about the same price! There is a place 2 hours away in Ohio, but I'll keep buying it at Walmart for now. I could avoid shopping at Wal-Mart altogether in Indiana, but these days, it's my Brokeback Mountain: Wal-Mart, I wish I could quit you!

And another one down...

I had a down day emotionally yesterday. Just a general low feeling, with spurts of ultra-grumpy ire, I must admit. The Jedis are really loud and rambunctious now that they feel better, and M is really whiny due to the respiratory mess we've been dealing with. Thank God for her nap!

I watched Christmas movies and laid around yesterday afternoon once we had gotten the house cleaned up. I was very cold and tired, and I must've really needed a rest because I even fell asleep on the couch with kids all around.

Dr.O' came down with the high fever and respiratory mess last night. Think of your tonsils as two Christmas hams wrapped in barbed wire and a sinus headache that feels like a fist pounding from the inside, and you've mostly got the picture. He's been so helpful in keeping everything working around here while I've been sick, so I've been after him any time he's doing work today, insisting that he veg out in our bed and get good rest! He was happy to do so once we had found the remote. Guess he didn't want to watch ABC Family for 2 days while he recuperates!

I decided not to share our plague at church today, especially since I don't know who in my family has actually had this virus and may still come down with it. Instead, I took the kids to the store where we got the last of the necessary items to celebrate IM-7's birthday tomorrow. It was good to give Dr.O' some solid sleep time without interruption. Now it's M's nap, and the boys are enjoying Rudolph.

Cookie-palooza!

The immense cookie baking was put off this week by our sudden respiratory malaise, but we have recovered and gotten life back in order. Our friends the Hamricks couldn't come due to respiratory stuff on our end and illness in their household as well, so we have shifted our plans around significantly. I baked most of the day today and have hundreds of cookies neatly stored in colored buckets of all sizes. Dr. O' stayed home and helped with M, who is in full toddler mode and a Daddy's Girl, and we had a nice day listening to This American Life on the iPod dock he gave me early for Christmas. Nice to have our holiday back on track! I'll finish baking tomorrow, and then the celebrations and travel will commence!

I posted a list of links with my Christmas cookie recipes in the right-hand column. Merry Christmas!

Things are calm for now...

Today is our first "normal" day in a week, with me + Dog & Baby Show @ home. I'm enjoying the Peanuts Christmas Soundtrack and munching on one of these.

I took M to the pediatrician yesterday and found out that she did not have influenza, which likely means that the rest of us didn't, either, despite having all the classic symptoms. He was kind enough to give us a prescription for Augmentin just in case we ran into a secondary sinus infection over the weekend. It's nice to have some credibility with the doctor. I'm conservative about doctor visits and antibiotics, and I'm glad he trusts my judgment. I'd really rather not mess with Augmentin if I can avoid it anyway! I was pleased to hear that we were doing exactly the right thing to treat her pain and breathing difficulty, and all he did was up her frequency of breathing treatments. It's good to have some serious momma experience under one's belt, you know?

The boys are both finally back at school today after a week of sick days and snow days. IM's throat still hurts, but he's turning into a whiny pile of mush on the couch from watching TV, and he's been fever-free for almost 24 hours. My throat still hurts too, but we gotta get moving some time!

The weekend will be much quieter now, and I'll have to ask IM if he prefers to wait to celebrate his birthday with extended family or to have cake at home on his birthday, which is Monday. He's turning 7 folks, 7! We have some fun surprises for him!

A-man is incredibly loud these days, talking right over me every time I attempt to say something, which is hard because my throat hurts. Kind of infuriating. Definitely asking God to help me love that child better on the hard days. I have to make sure to connect with him 10 minutes each day with a snuggle in the chair together. It's a powerful reset button for him.

Dr. O' is back to work (kinda) today, reviewing applications for a job opening in his department, a new and strange feeling for someone who was just applying a year ago! He's got a retreat today too. I can't begin to express how thankful I am for that man. He kept things sane around here when I was feeling lousy, and he was so patient and thorough in every task. He is definitely the cheese to my macaroni!